Pirates of the Caribbean 07 City of Gold (4 page)

"Bell, I mean it," Jack said firmly.Arabella stood for a moment, stunned by Jack's sincerity.Finally, Arabella nodded and saluted Jack.

"I'll take care of the ship until you r
eturn, Captain," she promised.

"If I return," Jack said with a grim smile.

"You, too, Laura," Mr. Reece said, standing between her and the dragon."What are you talking about?" Captain Smith demanded.

"And calling me by my first name! You chauvinistic...""Please.
For me," Mr. Reece said bravely

"I
failed you during the mutiny;
let me make it up to you. I couldn't live with myself otherwise!"Laura hesitated. So did her daughter.

"GO!" Jack and Reece shouted at the same time.So they did.

"Well, that's that, then," Jack said bravely, turning to face the dragon. He and Mr. Reece exchanged a grin, "As my friend Jean would say...
en garde!"

CHAPTER NINE

The beast hissed and drooled. The head that had once been LeftFoot's was now only vaguely recognizable, distorted with scales and large, pitted nostrils. It lunged back and forth on its disgustingly skinny neck, as if deciding where to attack first. Finally, it lashed out at Mr. Reece.The Fleurs first mate brought up his rapier smartly and parried. Metal clanged on the giant yellow fangs, throwing sparks into the air.But while h
e was distracted by Left-Foot,
he missed Silverback's attack. The sneaky pirate's head slithered along the ground on its own snakelike neck. It bit down hard on his leg."Oh. Oh, no. You can't be serious" Jack groaned, when Mr. Reece went down with a cry. Gleaming drops of venom oozed out of twin nasty, bloody wounds."Why is it always me?" the captain of the Barnacle continued to grumble, placing himself in between the serpent and his fallen companion.The Madame Minuit snakehead hissed and pulled back, preparing to attack.Jack stood without moving as the giant open mouth screamed down at him. At the very last second, he jumped out of the way. At the same time--and without looking--he brought his sword down behind him, where the Silve
rback snakehead was once again
trying to sneak in and bite while Jack was distracted.His sword hadn't cut very deeply. The soft gold tip of Jack's cutlass bent and skittered across the hard scaly plates, only gouging the flesh a little, but enough to hurt. The snakehead roared with anger and pain.

"Throw me your sword!" Jack called out to Reece.Trying not to moan with pain, Mr. Reece valiantly tossed Jack his shiny steel rapier. Jack caught it and spun, just in time to fend off another attack from the LeftFoot Louis snakehead.Bringing the rapier out swiftly across his chest, Jack managed to sink the blade deep into the thing's neck.Recovering quickly, the beast's Silverback snakehead once again slithered along the
floor, aiming for Mr. Reece.

"Watch it, mate!" Jack cried.But the first mate of the Fleur de la Morte was barely conscious. He had one hand on his wound, trying to staunch the bleeding, and one hand with a dagger in it...which probably wouldn't have done much good.Jack ran and leaped. He grabbed the chandelier and swung from it. With one swipe of his sword he cut the lamp's chain, then ran clear as the chandelier fell with a crash to the floor--and onto the Silverback snakehead's neck, preventing its open mouth from biting Mr. Reece.The beast was now even more enraged. Sparks glittered around its evil golden eyes. Lightning fast, it snapped at Jack.Instead of trying to bite him, as Jack had expected, the beast whipped one of its long necks around his back and legs and pulled
, crashing him to the ground.

The beast slithered out from under the fallen chandelier.The main snakehead--the one formerly belonging to Madame Minuit--paused as Jack hesitated. Its gaze was terrifying.Jack heard a voice but could not tell if it was coming from the snakehead, his own mind, or somewhere else entirely.Jack Sssparrow?" the voice whispered.

"Everywhere you go, you bring
chaos
and trouble. Violence and
curses’
follow you like twin dogs...and your friends often have to bear the brunt of it. YOU turned this city silver. All because of the amulet...which you promised your little friend you would return to him. You didn't need to go looking for the gold gem, did you? Oh, but then you were curious.... The power drew you in."Jack paused. Was that right? Was he totally blinded by
the lure of the Sun and Stars
amulet and the freedom it would provide him? He really didn't need to find the gold gem. Or the silver one, for that matter. They were just supposed to find the amulet and bring it back to Tumen's village.He leveled his sword at the beast. It seemed fiercer than ever, and as it opened its jaws, Jack thought he'd be swallowed whole. He lifted his sword, closed his eyes,
and hoped for the best.

Outside the town hall, the crew of the Barnacle met up with Captain Smith and Arabella. Dawn was breaking over the newly unsilvered city. The crew stood in awe of what a beautiful city it was. None of them had really appreciated it before. But because the city had almost been lost, it felt especially sweet to have it back now--the iron balconies, the smell of damp cobble stones down by the river, the flicker
ing of rusty old streetlamps.

But they did not have much time to think about the resurrected city filled again with normalcy and, above all, hope. Clangs and crashes could be heard from inside the town hall."A beast, you say?" Fitzwilliam asked, attempting to sound more curious than worried.Of a sort," Arabella said, also trying to sound calm.A window exploded outward, shattering into a thousand bright pink pieces under the dawning sun.Captain Smith flinched."I should be in there," she said, her hand going to her sword and hovering there, as if she were unable to decide whether or not to draw it.

"Aye, and me as well," Arabella said. The mother and daughter looked at each other for a l
ong moment almost hopelessly.
Then a bloodcurdling, terrible scream filled the air. And everything went suddenly silent.Fitzwilliam and Jean exchanged nervous looks.

"I'm going in," Arabella decided. Her mother was right behind her.But before they could approach the building, the doors flew open. Out staggered Jack. His stomach was bleeding and there were gashes and black burns on his face. He was half dragging, half supporting Mr. Reece, who was pale and unconscious.

"Miss me?" Jack said, exhausted, lowering Mr. Reece down to the ground. Arabella tried to push past him to look inside, but Jack stopped her.

"You don't want to see what's in there, lass. Most of that--thing--disappeared in a blast of smoke.... What remains smells like a steak that's much too |
well done. If you follow..."
Arabella made a disgusted face as she caught a whiff from inside the hall, and she proceeded no further.

"Mr. Reece," Captain Smith said worriedly, kneeling down and looking at his wound."I'll...live..." he moaned, a weak smile on his face."I don't know about that," Tim said doubtfully. Jean kicked him."Here," Jack said, lurching over to Tumen. He gestured for him to hold out his hands. Into his right hand, he dropped the three metal gems: bronze, silver, and gold. Into his left, he carefully placed the amulet, closing Tumens fingers around it.Tumen looked at Jack in gracious wonder.But before anyone could say anything else, a crowd of Pirate Guards approached. The mining had stopped when the city transformed from
silver back into its natural
state, creating an upheaval. Upon seeing Jack and his friends there, they immediately drew swords and muskets.

"Oh, good," Jack said with humor.

"That snake-thing in there was just a nice warmup." He pulled his--or rather, Mister Reece's--sword.But Captain Smith cleared her throat

"Madame Minuit, Left-Foot, and Silverback are no longer in charge here," she announced, as if it were the most casual thing in the world.

"However, if you're looking for work aboard a reputable ship, I am interviewing for crew on the Fleur de la Morte""The Fleur?" A Pirate Guard whispered to another enthusiastically.Jack looked at Arabella. She shrugged. Apparently her mother really was famous. Among pirates, at least.No longer
pursued by the Pirate Guards,
the crew of the Barnacle was escorted back to the docks. The guards--who were in awe of Captain Smith--even assisted Mr. Reece back to the ship.

"It's the hat," Jack decided, wistfully looking at the fantastic plume in Captain Smith's velvet tricorn. They all love the hat."

"Sure, Jack, it's the hat," Arabella said with a grin.

"You'll see, I'll get a hat like that for myself," Jack promised.

"Whatever you say, Captain Jack Sparrow," Tumen said with a smile.Everyone gathered at the docks. The day had fully arrived, and soft yellow sunshine once again shone on New Orleans. Neither bronze, nor silver, nor gold--just brick and stone and wood. A living city.A city that, if truth be
told, smelled a little foul.

"It's so nice to see everything back to normal," Jean said, grinning at his home town.

"I would rather have a bowl of alligator gumbo than whatever it is they eat in cities of gold any day!"

"I don't know about that," Captain Laura Smith and Jack said at the same time. They looked at each other a little guiltily. It would have been nice to have the gold--at least a little bit of it. Could come in handy someday.

"Well, that's it, then," Jack said, not one for long good-byes.

"All aboard who's going aboard the mighty Barnacle. Fare thee well, Cap'n Smith." He gave an exaggerated bow to Arabella's mother, complete with removing his hat and twirling it. Captain Smith gave a stiff little bow back. Their heads almost touched.

"And
I
hope
I
never
run into
you
on
the
seven
seas," Jack muttered quickly

"Forever will
be
too
long
if
I
never
see
you
again," Captain Smith agreed.

No one else appeared to have heard them.Tim Hawk stretched his arms and smiled.

"Well...this has been fun, lads and lasses, and cats." Tim took a deep breath. But I have got a family to find. After all, I was on my way to do that when Madame Minuit kidnapped me. Seems like a lost cause, I know, but Arabella thought her mother was dead for all those years--and here she is, alive. Maybe my mum and da' are still alive too, somewhere! There's a chance...."

"Of course, lad," Jack said with an understanding smile. Then he turned to Fitzwilliam and tapped his head as if to indicate Tim's insanity.

"There's always hope," Arabella said, slapping Jack upside the back of his head.

"Take this
." Tumen carefully handed Tim
the silver gem. Tim's eyes goggled in amazement. "Family is far more important than gold. I hope this brings you luck in finding them."

"And you'll always have my thanks for rescuing us from Madame Minuit's paralyzing snakes at the Masquerade Noir," Jack added. "Any time you need a
favour
, you just ask for old Jack Sparrow. I give you my word. And that's as good as anything else I can give you." Jack muttered the last part.Tim nodded and grinned.There were worse things than having an adventurous sea captain owe you a favor. He ran off, looking happier than the crew of the Barnacle had seen him since they'd met."All right, then, where were we?" Jack said, looking around. "Oh, yes--good-bye!"He then threw his arm around Arabella's shoulders and started to head for the Bar
nacle.But Arabella hesitated.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"What's wrong now?"Her lips were quivering. For the first time ever, she looked unsure of herself. "Look, Jack, me and me mum, we sort of have to work...well..."

"You want to stay with her?" Jack said flatly. Captain Smith looked surprised.Arabella shrugged plaintively.

"I want to give her a chance at least. D'ye understand? I've never felt so free as I have with you on the Barnacle. I've never had such adventures...or friends before. And I feel so bad, especially after ye made me yer first mate and all..." She smiled at Jack for a moment, then squared her shoulders in determination.

"But I've missed her so much...I don't want to lose her again. I'm going to stay with her and Mr. Reece on the Fleur de la
Morte"

"Forever?" Jack asked.

"For now," Arabella responded.A shadow of emotion flickered over Jack's face.

"Well, do what you have to, luv," he said softly. Then he shook himself and gave a fierce smile. "We're all free to come and go on the Barnacle. That's the point, is it not? We're all free to do as we please! Good luck with that, Bell!"Jack noticed Arabella's eyes grow watery."You're crying, lass.""Just something in me eye," Arabella said, throwing her arms around Jack's neck. "Thank you for everything, Jack," she sobbed. "You really are the best mate I've ever had--ever will have."Arabella wiped her eyes and then hugged Fitzwilliam. The normally stiff aristocrat was blinking hard and trying to keep his face composed, but tears were running un
controllably down his cheeks.

"Ye gods," Jack muttered. He nudged the boy.

"Steady on there, Fitzy."

"I am not crying," Fitzwilliam insisted.Arabella smiled sadly and gave him her kerchief to wipe his face with. It looked like an old cleaning rag, but Fitzwilliam took it with delight, as if it were made of French lace.

"All. Right. Then," Jack said, taking a deep breath. Arabella went to stand between her mother and Mr. Reece, trying to look brave.

"Everyone. Else. Aboard. The Barnacle. Now." He made impatient gestures at Tumen and Jean. And even Constance.

"Actually, we will not be returning with you, either," Tumen said quietly. He spread his hands, showing the amulet.

"I am going home now, and there is no need for you to travel to the Yucatan just to bring me there. Captain S
mith is headed down the Mayan
coast to... escort a sugar shipment slightly out of its way."Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head.Tumen continued, grinning.

"Now that I have the amulet to return, my village will take me back, and reward me greatly, when I tell them the tale of how I got it back in the first place. They'll be singing my story for many generations!"